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Amit  Jain  

Professor  Robertson  

EN-­‐130-­‐N  

27  Sep  2010  

Mar  14  2050  

                   Sunrays  seeping  through  his  eyelids  woke  Noah  as  the  clock  struck  seven.  It  was  

Monday,  a  busy  day  in  lives  of  people  from  pretty  much  forever.  A  twenty-­‐four  year  old  

virtual-­‐reality-­‐systems  engineer,  Noah,  was  no  different  from  those  men  and  women.  

Blinking  his  ocean-­‐blue  eyes,  Noah  was  greeted  by  TESS,  “Morning  Mr.  Smith.  Did  you  

sleep  well?”  TESS  was  a  gift  from  Noah’s  parents  when  he  was  born  and  has  been  with  

him  ever  since.  She  was  a  Terrestrial  Entelligence  Sub-­‐quantum  Sync  system  designed  to  

be  Noah’s  digital-­‐self.  She  lived  on  his  cornea,  between  the  actual  world  and  the  world  

Noah  saw.  She  accomplished  the  jobs,  once  performed  by  the  frail  human  memory  and  

a  billion  others.    

                       Waking  up  to  the  artificial  sunrays  that  TESS  simulated  for  him,  Noah  headed  

towards  the  washroom.  Behind  him,  the  bed  sanitized  itself  and  then  condensed  into  a  

swanky  couch  almost  noiselessly.  As  Noah  walked  across  the  plush  carpet  floor  of  his  

apartment  on  negative  fifty-­‐fourth  floor  of  the  underground  Emporis  Plaza,  lights  lit  up  

ahead  of  him.  Within  a  minute  the  entire  place  had  a  soft  glint  of  fiber-­‐optic  light,  which  

travelled  from  the  nuclear-­‐fusion  plants.  

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                       Twenty  minutes  hence,  Noah  was  in  a  seven  feet  long  hybrid  black  Chevy,  

levitating  on  S-­‐N  Paxton-­‐Hill  Street.  Even  before  petroleum  resources  ran  out  in  2024,  

the  world  had  switched  to  hydrogen  fuel  cells.  These  tiny  babies  could  power  a  house  

for  a  year.  However,  the  biggest  scientific  revolution  of  the  twenty  first  century  was  the  

development  of  controlled  nuclear  fusion  by  Dr.  Amit  Jain  in  the  year  2027.  This  

provided  the  humans  with  literally  unlimited  amount  of  clean  energy.  Now  vehicles  

levitated  on  highways  propelled  by  

electromagnetic  induction  and  

when  they  were  off  road,  by  

hydrogen  fuel  cells.  People  had  

abandoned  traffic  lights  when  cars  

Almiller
became  self-­‐aware  and  now  these  cars  negotiated  routes  with  each  other,  letting  people  

with  higher  priority  jobs  pass  first.  This  had  made  travels  virtually  risk  free  and  cars  could  

now  cruise  at  600mph  without  any  safety  concerns.  

                     While  the  Chevy  paced  northwards  for  New  York,  TESS  flashed  the  day’s  itinerary  

in  front  of  Noah.  Glass  displays  like  LCDs  and  LEDs  had  been  long  replaced  with  virtual  

reality  3D  displays  where  systems  like  TESS  projected  the  images  on  person’s  cornea  

giving  the  perception  of  vision.  Skimming  through  the  chores  for  the  day,  Noah  made  

mental  notes,  which,  TESS  noted.  

                       Ten  minutes  and  eighty  miles  later,  the  black  Chevy  began  to  ascend  on  the  

sidewalls  of  Noah’s  office  building-­‐  The  Buick  Towers.  It  was  one  of  the  most  colossal  
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edifices  in  the  town,  rising  3000  feet  and  plush  with  matte  black  carbon-­‐fiber  frame  

gripping  on  lustrous  dark  polyurethane  glasses.  Two  blocks  towards  west  was  the  

Empire  State  Building,  once  New  York’s  landmark  and  now  a  national  heritage  structure,  

made  out  of  stones,  concrete  and  steel.  The  Chevy  stopped  at  seven  twentieth  floor  and  

parked  itself  into  the  dock  right  by  the  office  entrance.  Lifts  were  now  obsolete,  as  they  

were  considered  unsafe  and  too  slow  for  buildings  this  high.  

                   John  had  just  left  the  office  that  Noah  was  headed  to  work  in.  An  appreciator  of  

metal  arts,  John  liked  brushed-­‐metallic  interiors  and  bright  lights  with  minimal  furniture.  

On  the  contrary,  Noah  was  a  junkie  and  appreciated  vivid  colors  in  striking  patterns.  

Personalized  spaces  used  to  be  a  big  issue  with  the  architects  in  2010  and  required  a  lot  

of  floor  space.  However,  by  2028,  advances  in  fiber-­‐optic  pixel-­‐backlighting  technologies  

pinned  the  issue  in  the  bud.  Now,  instead  of  acrylic  and  distemper  paints,  rooms  were  

fitted  with  optically-­‐backlit  pixels  and  could  instantaneously  change  colors  and  lighting  

schemes  to  match  the  preference  of  its  occupants.  TESS  instructed  the  room’s  

personalization  engine  and  within  moments  temperature,  aroma,  furniture,  lighting,  

wall  hangings,  phone  numbers,  mail  accounts,  and  music  changed  to  Noah’s  favorites.  

               The  day  passed  swiftly  revising  notes  and  attending  virtual  meetings,  where  one  can  

see  people  sitting  and  talking  right  beside  him  but  it  turns  out  to  be  a  very  intelligent  

illusion  created  by  vapor  projectors  and  3D-­‐stereo  sound  systems.  Now,  dressed  sharply  

in  a  three-­‐piece  tuxedo  made  out  of  self-­‐cleaning  organic  polymers,  Noah  was  headed  to  

the  César’s  in  Nevada,  Las  Vegas.  The  legendary  hotel  has  survived  the  torrents  of  

change  and  has  morphed  itself  into  being  the  most  magnificent  artifacts  of  underground  
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engineering,  with  a  footprint  of  eight  hundred  thousand  square  feet,  seated  seventy  

meters  under  the  ground.  Today,  it  was  the  venue  of  the  celebrations  for  Sir  Albert  

Einstein’s  171st  birthday  and  the  twenty-­‐fifth  anniversary  of  the  United  Forces  Treaty.  

                 Amidst  the  desert,  the  highest  echelons  of  power  decided  the  fate  of  the  world.  

Back  in  2024,  Las  Vegas  was  only  a  casino  city  with  ginormous  money.  However,  after  

the  United  Forces  Treaty  of  March  2025,  it  was  established  as  the  headquarters  of  the  

G4,  a  group  of  world’s  most  powerful  nations:  The  United  Sates  of  America,  The  People’s  

Republic  of  China,  The  Republic  of  India  and  The  Russian  Federation.  The  treaty  averted  

the  Third  World  War  by  implementing  intelligence  sharing  between  the  power  wielders  

on  economic,  military  and  scientific  forefronts  and  by  establishing  fair  trade  laws.  It  

recognized  human  rights  as  paramount  and  the  value  of  a  human  life.  Through  

understanding,  men  have  learned  to  live  in  peace  and  today,  the  celebrations  in  the  

grand  Colosseum  Ballroom  in  the  César’s,  were  a  testimony.  On  the  way  back  home,  as  

Noah  was  slipping  into  slumber,  TESS  hummed  John  Lennon’s  song  Imagine  in  Noah’s  

ears…  

“Imagine  no  possessions  

I  wonder  if  you  can  
No  need  for  greed  or  hunger  
A  brotherhood  of  man  
Imagine  all  the  people  
Sharing  all  the  world  
 
You  may  say  that  I'm  a  dreamer  
But  I'm  not  the  only  one  
I  hope  someday  you'll  join  us  
And  the  world  will  live  as  one”  (Lennon)  

 
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Works  Cited  

Almiller.  “Future  City”.  Online  image.  15  Aug.  2010.  DeviantArt.com.  29  Sept.  2010.  

                 <http://browse.deviantart.com/?q=future%20city&order=9&offset=96#/d2wfwip>.    

Lennon,  John.  "Imagine".  Imagine.  LP.  Capitol,  1971.